Method of producing air conditioners

ABSTRACT

A method of producing air conditioners in which a pair of structural components are each molded with three cavities which are open at one end of the respective component and which, when the components abut with these ends against each other, form complementary parts of substantially closed spaces for respectively housing the electromotor and two fans of a blower unit driven by the motor. The two components are molded from thermoplastic material, preferably reinforced by short glass fibers. The elements of the blower unit are placed in the cavities of one of the structural components while the same are spaced from each other, whereafter the other component is placed in abutting relationship on the one component and the two components are then joined at the abutting ends.

United States Patent 1 l [111 3,887,977 Riello June 10, 1975 [54] METHOD OF PRODUCING AIR 2,941,38! $41968 Eberlhart 62/262 m N 2.945.359 I96 Mac eod.... 62/429 CON ERS 2,945,360 7/1960 Tyler 62/262 [75] Inventor: Valerio Giordano Riello, Legnagov 2.959.037 11/1960 Mehalick et al 62/429 Italy 2,984,089 5/l96l Whitesel 62/262 {73] Assignee: Riello Condizionatori S.A.S. di

Giordano-Riello & Co, Bevilacqua, j; V l I emna ta y Attorney, Agent, or Firm-M1chael S. Striker [22] Filed: June 8, 1973 [211 App]. No.: 368,080 [57] ABSTRACT Related s Application Data A method of producing air conditioners in which a [62] Division of Ser No 154 956 June 21 197] Pat No pair of structural components are each molded with 3 756 three cavities which are open at one end of the respective component and which, when the components abut [30] Foreign Application Prior"), Data with these ends against each other, form complemen- J 20 I970 I I 26327 70 tary parts of substantially closed spaces for respecunc my I tively housing the electromotor and two fans of a blower unit driven by the motor. The two components 2? are molded from thermoplastic material, preferably i "29/157 R 5 463 469 reinforced by short glass fibers. The elements of the 1 o ears 2 blower unit are placed in the cavities of one of the structural components while the same are spaced from 6 R f C1 d each other, whereafter the other component is placed [5 1 e erences e in abutting relationship on the one component and the UNITED STATES PATENTS two components are then joined at the abutting ends. 2,071,366 2/1937 Weiland 62/429 9 Cl 7 D 2,751,760 6/1956 Williams 62/289 METHOD OF PRODUCING AIR CONDITIONERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is a divisional application of the copending application, Ser. No. 154,956, filed June 2|, 1971, now Pat. No. 3,756,039.

BACKGROUND OF THE lNVENTlON This invention relates to air conditioners adapted for conditioning (usually for cooling) the inner atmosphere of house or office rooms and the like. and more specifically this invention relates to a method for industrially producing said air conditioners and in particular the structrual components thereof.

Such air conditioners are already well known and widely utilized. Obviously, a good efficiency and high power thereof should be associated, if possible, with an inexpensive production, a good installation versatility, a reduced noisiness and so on. However, said requirements are, as well known, sharply conflicting.

Indeed, said air conditioners comprise rather complicated equipment, wherein a complete refrigerating battery is housed within a usually parallelepipedon-shaped outer casing having sides a few centimeters long, said refrigerating battery comprising a motor-driven compressor unit, an evaporator wherein a fluid heat carrier (Freon" or other easily liquefiable gas or gas mixture) is caused to expand in order to absorb heat from the room, and a condenser wherein said heat carrier is again liquefied under a suitable pressure in order to give-out said previously taken-up heat.

Two physically and thermally separated circuits must be provided within said casing, each of said circuits comprising suitable passages to force related air streams through the pipe coils of said evaporator and condenser, respectively. Said air streams are generated and maintained by suitable blowers or blower fans which operate in said circuits and are driven by motor means different from that of said compressor. Said casing comprises inlet and outlet openings for a warm circuit and a cold circuit, respectively, said openings leading to two different environments, i.e., a conditioned or inner environment and an outer environment wherein the calories withdrawn from the former environment are discharged, or wherefrom calories for heating said inner environment are taken-up (when the air conditioner is utilized as a heater).

Therefore, said air conditioners show a rather complicated inner structure, wherein a plurality of partition walls are provided for physically separating said warm or cold air stream flowing passages. Said different passages shall be connected in such a manner as to create the least possible drag to said air streams.

Further problems arise from a well-known and undesirable noisiness of such equipment, which comprises blower fans operating in an environment directly communicating with the outside.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing air conditioners in which the components for housing and supporting the various elements of the air conditioner, such as a blower unit, a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator may be mass-produced and assembled with each other and the above-mentioned elements in a simple, cost-reducing manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of producing air conditioners in which the various supporting components thereof, when assembled with the elements, will provide air conditioners of high efficiency, with an extended useful life and a noiseless operation.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the method according to the present invention mainly comprises the steps of molding a pair of three-dimensional structural components. each having recesses open at one end of the respective component and each defined at the open end by an end edge of predetermined outline, in which the recesses in one component are complementary to the recesses in the other component, placing a blower unit into the recesses of one component so as to partly house the blower unit in the recesses of the one component, placing the other component onto the one component with the one end of the other component abutting against the. one end of said one component and with the complementary recesses aligned with each other so as to substantially enclose said blower unit in a space defined by the complementary recesses, and joining the structural components along at least part of the end edges defining the open ends of the recesses.

The blower unit may comprise an electric motor and a pair of blowing fans driven by the motor and arranged with the latter along a common axis and the structural components are each molded with three recesses respectively housing the motor and the blowing fans. Preferably, the structural components are mounted in such a manner that the end edges of the recesses in each component along which the components are joined to each other are located in a plane which includes the aforementioned common axis.

The structural components are molded from synthetic thermoplastic material such as polyamides, polyesters, copolymers or mixtures thereof, which are preferably reinforced by short glass fibers.

During molding of the aforementioned structural elements, air passages are formed therein which provide communication between the three recesses and with the surrounding atmosphere.

The structural components are preferably molded to provide also laterally projecting wall portions on which a compressor, as well as a condenser and an evaporator, are mounted in such a manner that air streams produced by the fans of the blower unit are passed over the evaparator and the condenser as well as over the compressor to cool the latter. The method includes further the step of molding a third component from a plastic material having high heat insulating properties and mounting this third component on the other component in such a manner as to separate the two air streams respectively produced by the two fans of the blower unit from each other.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, to gether with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the main structural components of an air conditioner according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same components, along with the electromechanical and heat transfer and exchange system elements;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are diagrammatic sections of the air conditioner structure, taken on planes perpendicular to blower fan axes, as indicated with IIIIII, IV-IV and VV, respectively, in FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a section of the assembled air conditioner, taken on the horizontal plane VIVI in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is another section of the air conditioner, taken on the plane VII-VII in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to this invention, the air conditioner structure essentially consists of two components I0 and 12, with which a third component 14 is associated in order to physically and thermally separate passages wherein a warm air stream and a cold air stream, respectively, flow. Said structural components 10 and 12 are connected in opposite relationship with each other across a plane (or an approximately planar surface), preferably horizontal and parallel to the major sides of a parallelepipedon-shaped air conditioner casing. Said plane comprises the axes of centrifugal blower fans 16 and 18, as well as the shaft of an electric motor 20 therefor, said axes and shaft being aligned parallel to the major sides of said parallelepipedon-shaped casing. More over, said components 10 and I2 define a space wherein a motor-driven compressor unit 22 of a type usually utilized in such air conditioner equipment, is housed.

The edge 24 of the lower component 10 defines a plane which is coincident with the air conditioner bottom wall. Likewise, the edge 26 of the upper structural component 12 defines a plane wherein lies an essentially planar member 28 of the same component 12, acting as a partition wall for separating spaces wherein said air conditioner electromechanical elements (blower fans 16 and 18, motor 20 and compressor unit 22) are housed and operated. Within said spaces are also formed passages by which two separate air streams are conveyed through a condenser 30 and an evaporator 32, respectively, which are of a known type.

As can be noticed in particular from FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 7, said condenser 30 extends across the whole height of two spaces overlying and underlying said planar portion 28 of the top structural component 12, in order to be crossed both by the air sucked and delivered by said warm circuit fan 18.

The evaporator 32, which is supported by a cantilever extending tray 34 formed by an extension of said planar member 28, defines one main side of the space above said planar member 28 and is crossed only by the air stream delivered by said cold circuit fan I6.

The air to be cooled through the evaporator 32 is sucked from an opening 36 (see FIGS. 3 and 6), then flows axially through a passage 38 (see FIG. 6) and inside the centrifugal fan 16, preferably of a drum type, and is finally tangentially delivered into a scroll conveyor 40 (see FIGS. 4 and 6) leading to an opening 42 of said planar member 28. Said air stream flows then into said upper space, sidewise the heat insulating partition component 14, whereafter it is delivered across the evaporator 32 in a direction F, as indicated in FIGS. 4 and 7.

The warm circuit comprises a plurality of openings formed in the lower part of condenser 30, which in turn rests on a tray 44 (FIG. 4) rigidly secured to the bottom component 10. In more detail, said openings comprise a first opening 46, leading to a space partly taken-up by said motor 20 and separated from the space leading to said opening 36 by inclined partition walls 48, and a second opening 50 leading to a space wherein said compressor unit 22 is housed. The air stream flowing across said opening 50 cooperates to dissipate the heat generated by said compressor unit 22. The air sucked through both said openings 46 and 50 axially flows in either directions 52 and 54 as indicated in FIG. 6, into the centrifugal fan 18, whose vanes tangentially deliver an air stream into a second scroll conveyor 56 that extends into a connecting passage 58 formed in said upper structural component 12 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and S). Said air stream is then delivered from the opposite side of said heat insulating component 14, between arms 60 and 62 thereof, and is finally conveyed across the top section of said condenser 30.

As can be noticed from the drawings, said components l0 and 12 are rather complicated. However, they can be molded in dies that can be juxtaposed at least partially in a plane as indicated by VIVl in FIG. 5, and partially in other suitably selected planes.

Said components comprise many flat surfaces and many curved surfaces (as e.g., the surfaces defining said scroll-shaped walls of fan conveyors), as well as surfaces at right angles and other surfaces defining angles far from (e.g., walls 48). Said different surfaces achieve a high mechanical strength and stability against deformations, due to the juxtaposition of said two components in said plane VI-VI. The contacting opposed edges of said components may be suitably shaped in order to insure firm abutting joints.

Said two components cooperate to form a box-like structure having an inner space subdivided into a plurality of chambers. Said box-like structure, owing to its complicated shape comprising differently shaped and sized chambers formed therein, having planar and curved surfaces, as well as to sound-proofing properties of plastics, is unusually noiseless and above all antiresonant, which results in unusually silently operating air conditioners.

As can be noticed from the above description, said structural components and in particular said bottom component 10 operate also as supporting means for said air conditioner electromechanical elements and in particular said fan axes and said motor shaft.

The above structural features of said components allow the same to be molded in one piece with suitable synthetic materials, as e.g., a polyamide resin or a polyester resin, or even a copolymer of styrene, as acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene copolymers or any other material having similar properties. Particularly suitable are thermoplastic synthetic polymers having an essentially linear molecular structure, as e.g., polyamides, polyesters and copolymers or mixtures thereof, reinforced with glass fibres having a very small length, which are already well known as molding materials. The use of such materials, along with said previously described structural features of air conditioner components allow that structures be obtained having a very high stiffness and dimensional stability, even under wide room temperature changes. thus affording to the air conditioners highly desirable properties, as e.g.. a thermal resistance. a silent operation. a physical strength and so on. The structural component 14, which does not have a physical strength function but is merely an intervening wall and heat insulator between warm and cold air streams, may be made of any high thermal insulating material, as e.g., expanded polystyrene, and can be molded in one place.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other methods of producing air conditioners differing from the methods described above,

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a method of producing an air conditioner having two molded structural main components, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without futher analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential char acteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims;

1. A method of producing an air conditioner having acompressor, a condenser, an evaporator connected to said compressor, and an electromechanical blower unit comprising an electric motor and a pair of blowing fans driven by said motor and arranged with the latter along a common axis, said method comprising the steps of molding a pair of three-dimensional structural components each having a wall of substantially rectangular outline; placing said motor and said fans on said wall of rectangular outline of one of said structural components; connecting said walls of rectangular outline by additional walls extending substantially normal thereto and defining between said walls of rectangular outline at least in part three recesses respectively housing said motor and said fans, with each of said walls of rectangular outline projecting with portions thereof beyond said additional walls; forming in said structural components air passages providing communication between said recesses and communication of said recesses with the surrounding atmosphere; mounting said compressor and said condenser on said portions of said wall of rectangular outline of said one component which projects beyond said additional walls; and mounting said evaporator on a portion of said wall of rectangular outline of said other component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls, said condenser being mounted on said one component to project in part upwardly beyond said other component and said evaporator being mounted on said other component to I rii upwardly therefrom.

2. A method as defined in claim I, wherein said wall of rectangular outline of said other component is formed with openings therethrough forming part of said air passages, and including the step of molding a third component and mounting said third component on said wall of rectangular outline of said other structural component projecting upwardly therefrom, said 5 third component being molded and mounted in such a manner so as to separate an air stream produced by one of said fans and passing through one of said openings from an air stream produced by the other of said fans and passing through the other of said openings.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein said third component is molded from a plastic material having high insulating properties.

4. A method of producing an air conditioner having a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator connected to said compressor, and an electromechanical blower unit comprising an electric motor and a pair of blowing fans driven by said motor and arranged with the latter along a common axis, said method comprising the steps of molding a pair of three-dimensional structural components, each molded with a wall of substantially rectangular outline and three recesses open at one end of the respective component and at least in part defined by additional walls projecting from said walls of rectangular outline, with said walls of rectangular outline projecting with portions thercoflaterally beyond said additional walls, with each recess defined at said open end by an end edge of predetermined outline, and with the recesses in one component complimentary to the recesses in the other component; forming in said structural components during the molding thereof air passages providing communication between said three recesses and communication of said recesses with the surrounding atmosphere; placing said electric motor and said pair of blowing fans respectively into said recesses of one component so as to partly house said motor in said fans in said recesses of said one component; placing the other component onto said one component with said one end of said other component abutting against said one end of said one component and with said complimentary recesses aligned with each other so as to substantially enclose said motor and said fans in the space defined by said complimentary recesses; joining said structural components along at least part of the end edges defining the open ends of said recesses; mounting said compressor and said condenser on said portions of said wall of rectangular outline of said one component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls thereof; and mounting said evaporator on a portion of said wall of rectangular outline of said other component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls thereof, said condenser being mounted on said one component to project in part upwardly beyond said other component and said evaporator being mounted on said other component to project upwardly therefrom.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded in such a manner that the end edges of said recesses in each component along which said components are joined to each other are lo cated in a plane and said common axis being located in said plane r. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded from synthetic thermoplastic material.

7. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded from synthetic materials third component being molded and mounted in such a manner so as to separate an air stream produced by one of said fans and passing through one of said openings from an air stream produced by the other of said fans and passing through the other of said openings.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein said third component is molded from a plastic material having high heat insulating properties. 

1. A method of producing an air conditioner having a compressor, a condenser, an evaperator connected to said compressor, and an electromechanical blower unit comprising an electric motor and a pair of blowing fans driven by said motor and arranged with the latter along a common axis, said method comprising the steps of molding a pair of three-dimensional structural components each having a wall of substantially rectangular outline; placing said motor and said fans on said wall of rectangular outline of one of said structural components; connecting said walls of rectangular outline by additional walls extending substantially normal thereto and defining between said walls of rectangular outline at least in part three recesses respectively housing said motor and said fans, with each of said walls of rectangular outline projecting with portions thereof beyond said additional walls; forming in said structural components air passages providing communication between said recesses and communication of said recesses with the surrounding atmosphere; mounting said compressor and said condenser on said portions of said wall of rectangular outline of said one component which projects beyond said additional walls; and mounting said evaporator on a portion of said wall of rectangular outline of said other component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls, said condenser being mounted on said one component to project in part upwardly beyond said other component and said evaporator being mounted on said other component to project upwardly therefrom.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said wall of rectangular outline of said other component is formed with openings therethrough forming part of said air passages, and including the step of molding a third component and mounting said third component on said wall of rectangular outline of said other structural component projecting upwardly therefrom, said third component being molded and mounted in such a manner so as to separate an air stream produced by one of said fans and passing through one of said openings from an air stream produced by the other of said fans and passing through the other of said openings.
 3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein said third component is molded from a plastic material having high insulating properties.
 4. A method of producing an air conditioner having a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator connected to said compressor, and an electromechanical blower unit comprising an electric motor and a pair of blowing fans driven by said motor and arranged with the latter along a common axis, said method comprising the steps of molding a pair of three-dimensional structural components, each molded with a wall of substantially rectangular outline and three recesses open at one end of the respective component and at least in part defined by additional walls projecting from said walls of rectangular outline, with said walls of rectangular outline projecting with portions thereof laterally beyond said additional walls, with each recess defined at said open end by an end edge of predetermined outline, and with the recesses in one component complimentary to the recesses in the other component; forming in said structural components during the molding thereof air passages providing communication between said three recesses and communication of said recesses with the surrounding atmosphere; placing said electric motor and said pair of bLowing fans respectively into said recesses of one component so as to partly house said motor in said fans in said recesses of said one component; placing the other component onto said one component with said one end of said other component abutting against said one end of said one component and with said complimentary recesses aligned with each other so as to substantially enclose said motor and said fans in the space defined by said complimentary recesses; joining said structural components along at least part of the end edges defining the open ends of said recesses; mounting said compressor and said condenser on said portions of said wall of rectangular outline of said one component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls thereof; and mounting said evaporator on a portion of said wall of rectangular outline of said other component which projects laterally beyond said additional walls thereof, said condenser being mounted on said one component to project in part upwardly beyond said other component and said evaporator being mounted on said other component to project upwardly therefrom.
 5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded in such a manner that the end edges of said recesses in each component along which said components are joined to each other are located in a plane and said common axis being located in said plane.
 6. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded from synthetic thermoplastic material.
 7. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said structural components are molded from synthetic materials comprising polyamides, polyesters, copolymers, or mixtures thereof, reinforced by short glass fibers.
 8. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein said wall of rectangular outline of said other component is formed with openings therethrough forming part of said air passages and including the step of molding a third component and mounting said third component on said wall of rectangular outline on said other structural component projecting upwardly therefrom, said third component being molded and mounted in such a manner so as to separate an air stream produced by one of said fans and passing through one of said openings from an air stream produced by the other of said fans and passing through the other of said openings.
 9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein said third component is molded from a plastic material having high heat insulating properties. 